A family of Microsoft spreadsheet software with tools for analyzing, charting, and communicating data
Because your worksheet already contains Bin and Frequency values, select both columns and create a 2-D column chart rather than Excel’s automatic Histogram chart.
Create the chart
Arrange the worksheet like this, with one row per bin:
| Bin | Frequency |
|---|---|
| 0–9 | 3 |
| 10–19 | 7 |
| 20–29 | 5 |
Then:
- Select the complete two-column range, including the Bin and Frequency headings.
- Select Insert → Charts → Column → 2-D Clustered Column.
- Excel should use:
- Bin as the horizontal (x) axis.
- Frequency as the vertical (y) values.
- Frequency as the series name.
A column chart places categories on the horizontal axis and their values on the vertical axis, which matches an already-calculated frequency table.^1^
Do not try to enter Frequency as an axis-formatting option. The y-axis gets its numbers from the Frequency data series, not from the axis settings.
Correct the chart you already made
Since you already started the chart:
- Select or right-click the chart.
- Choose Select Data.
- Under Data → Source, change the range so it includes both the Bin and Frequency columns.
- If Frequency is still absent, use Data → Setup → Add Field, select the Frequency cells, and apply the change.^2^
- Select the chart, open the Chart or Chart Design options, and change its type to 2-D Clustered Column if it is currently set to Histogram.
If your teacher specifically requires an XY (Scatter) chart, place numeric x-values in the first column and frequencies in the second. Excel for the web expects scatter-chart x and y values in that order.^3^
Why the Histogram option behaves differently
Excel’s built-in Histogram chart normally takes the raw observations and groups them into bins itself. Excel then counts how many observations fall into each bin.^4^ If Frequency has already been calculated, a regular column chart is the appropriate way to plot those existing totals.
On a Chromebook, Microsoft supports using the browser-based Microsoft 365 apps; the Windows or Mac desktop editions cannot be installed, and the Android Office apps are not currently supported on Chromebook.^5^ Therefore, tutorials showing desktop-only menus may not match the interface on the Chromebook.
References